Questions tagged [sound]

Questions regarding the generation of sound in retrocomputers.

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19 votes
4 answers
1k views

Is there a line printer sound simulator?

To improve "authenticity" of a mainframe simulator and for an additional nostalgic effect, I'd like to add sounds of a line printer to it. They should be similar enough to the original sounds for ...
Leo B.'s user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
666 views

Did any retro computers ship with the SP0256-AL2 speech chip or its equivalent?

The SP0256-AL2 Speech IC was a popular solution for text to speech translation but is now out of production. There where several other chips that entered the market but as far as I know did not have ...
jwzumwalt's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
617 views

Which machines, other than the PC-Engine, uses custom-waveform synthesis for sound?

The most common way retro machines made sounds were with programmable sound generators (PSG); there was a bunch of square waves, saw waves or noise channels at disposal. When technology evolved ...
Bregalad's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
996 views

Can't get the AY-3-8913 sound chip to work with my z80 (added schematic)

I'm trying to get the ay-3-8913 sound chip to work with my z80 but so far I haven't gotten any sound output yet. I know the chip, my amp circuit and the clock circuit work because it works when I ...
C32's user avatar
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25 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why do all the Speech Synthesizers have that same Voice?

The first time I ever played with software speech synthesis on a microcomputer (not hardware synthesis, like in TI's Speak & Spell) was around 1983, using S.A.M for the Commodore 64. A year later,...
Brian H's user avatar
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47 votes
9 answers
14k views

Why did the IBM PC need a sound card?

The original IBM PC and later variants used an Intel 8253 or 8254 as a sound chip. Why did users add sound cards such as the Adlib or Sound Blaster. I remember voice output with programs like ...
jwzumwalt's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
439 views

CPU speedup breaking sound compatibility

In the old days, it sometimes happened that a computer with a compatible but faster CPU, had problems running old games. For example, Sopwith was written for an 8088 PC; it was amusingly challenging ...
rwallace's user avatar
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10 votes
6 answers
2k views

Sound chips in 1977

By the early eighties, there were a variety of off-the-shelf sound chips suitable for use in home computers and arcade games. What about 1977? That seems to have been just a little early; I'm not ...
rwallace's user avatar
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